Neil deGrasse Tyson's life advice for experiencing the solar eclipse

NEW YORK — Prominent astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has a suggestion for anyone with a view of next week's solar eclipse: Put down your smartphone and take in the phenomenon yourself.

Tyson, who is set to appear at Tampa's Straz Center for the Performing Arts this fall, told an audience at the American Museum of Natural History on Monday: "Experience this one emotionally, psychologically, physically."

The Aug. 21 event will be the first total solar eclipse in 99 years to cross a coast-to-coast swath of the United States. A total solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the earth and the sun, completely blotting out the sunlight.

Tyson, the director of the museum's Hayden Planetarium and host of the podcast "StarTalk," said missing the eclipse "would be to not live as full a life as you could have" — and having a video of it doesn't match watching it happen.